Tuesday, January 12, 2016

What I resolve in 2016

I'm not much of a resolution-er. I've tried but like most they seem to fail sometime around, well, this time in January.

Then the trend swung to "word of the year." I tried that, but maybe because I never really connected with a word, just picked one I thought sounded like it would make a good year, that I usually forgot about them fairly quickly.

Then I found the above quote and really connected with it. It is general enough that there are not constraints on it that make me feel like I have to live up to whatever high bar I set. But the way that this goes about life, I could get behind that.

I have a feeling I will connect with all three sections of this at sometime in 2016, but for now I'm really stuck on the middle one.

More Creating, Less scrolling.

It has been rolling around in my head for the past couple of weeks and I just can't get away from it. My kids see me on my phone more than I'd like to admit. I find myself in the Bermuda triangle of social media. Facebook..instagram...twitter...facebook...instagram...twitter.

Often a whole half hour will go by and I don't even really know what I looked at! And, I mean, seriously? Why would I waste the little time that I feel like I have in a day doing that (multiple times!). And I always come off Facebook angry. I come off instagram inspired but also feeling like I'm not a good enough (runner, crafter, mom, *insert more here*). And Twitter often makes me feel snarky and cynical.

Now don't get me wrong. I also find community and inspiration in these places, but do I need to spend multiple 30 minute blocks of my day on them?

No. The answer is simply no.

So less scrolling.

More creating.

The older girls are listening to Harry Potter in the evenings and asked for House scarves. Working on it.

Luke got me a beautiful loom for my birthday, and I just hit up the clearance yarn at Micheal's. Working on it.

My one concrete resolution is to read 35 books this year (I ended 2015 at 32). Working on it.

And all of these things CAN be done if I just stop the scrolling. Spend more time with the kids. I would never want them to look back at their childhoods and picture me or their dad with our heads down and our faces light up by a small screen.

So for now, for this minute, more creating less scrolling.

creating dinner, crafts, activities with the kids, memories.

Here's to 2016 wide open and full of (now non-occupied) 30 minute blocks of creativity, not scrolling.